Author Comments

Yes, it really is a Self-Portrait of me, Joshua J. Morgan.
And NO, I am NOT contemplating or condoning suicide.

I originally conceived Self-Portrait as a 15 second short during the Fall 2002 (my first quarter as a Grad student at UCLA), but I decided to make a different 15 second film. I returned to the idea, however, when I wanted to make an intro for my website, joshuajmorgan.com. After teaching myself Flash, the film was completed in the Spring 2004, and it went on to win a "Spotlight Award" the following year.

I recently rediscovered NewGrounds.com and I'm so glad I finally decided to submit Self-Portrait because it's fascinating to see how polarized people's reactions are. I never intended it to be funny so I'm still surprised that some people find it humorous (it's always gotten a big laugh at all the festivals it's screened in).

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Joshua J. Morgan received his BA in Communication Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles and is currently working towards his MFA at the UCLA Animation Workshop, where he has been able to pass off his obsession for Japanese Anime as "research." Though many of his animations feature firearms, Josh is hardly a "gun nut." In fact, he has a strong phobia of guns, which was triggered by being held up at gunpoint in two separate armed robberies. Those life-threatening experiences also gave him a profound appreciation for living and so Josh has no intentions of actually performing the suicidal act depicted in his animated Self-Portrait. Seriously, his family and friends can all stop worrying... Josh really is happy :-)

Rated 4 / 5 stars2005-11-19 01:01:57

Rated 4 / 5 stars2005-11-11 11:52:56

The sacrifice of a true artist...

This is a great concept. Some people seem to think it is sick but I think it is honest and says something true about the artistic process. What I find interesting is that the blood spatter looks like the guy's face.